High Gate Ruins
by Ghostkill44
Summary: A quick adventure in the life of a character that I thought up some time ago, a Dunmer named Khan. His quest will take him into High Gate Ruins, a Nordic barrow infested with Draugr where he seeks an artifact of great power.
1. Chapter 1

11

The Dunmer known as Khan, a vampire lord, rode his summoned skeletal horse to the crest of the hill and reined it in to gaze at the view. His long, dark cloak flapped in the wind, exposing dimly glowing steel plate armour enchanted to boost the regeneration of his magicka. He wore no gauntlets to maintain a better grip on his sword. An ancient black mask of ebony taken from the dragon priest Nahkriin veiled the tell-tale glowing eyes of a vampire and boosted his already considerable offensive magical might. Khan's reputation as a powerful spellsword was well known throughout Skyrim. He was often asked for training in the schools of magic as well as martial skills, but his swordsmanship was especially renowned. It was a style developed by his old master that used a combination of destruction magic and conventional weapons. Khan's sword, Soul Hunter, lay at his side in a sheath. It was made from the black volcanic glass known as ebony, and he had personally forged and enchanted the weapon himself. Its powerful frost enchantment and ability to absorb the life essence of enemies made it among his most powerful possessions. However, Khan had come here to claim an even more powerful artifact from an ancient evil.

In the distance, Khan could see the decrepit yet darkly prideful remains of an ancient Nordic temple rising high to the north. The vampire could feel the evil within, guarding the relic he was hunting for. Khan turned his head when his Nord guide caught up to him.

"That is High Gate Ruins?" Khan asked in a low pitched voice, the cultured accent of a Morrowind noble coloring it.

"Yes, milord," the Nord hunter panted. He had had to jog all the way to keep up with the stranger whom had hired him. "Legends tell of an old evil inside, remains of the Dragon Cult. Me pa used to say-"

Khan cut him off quickly. "Thank you for your service, Nord. Here is the last of your payment." Khan tossed a coin purse towards the hunter, whom caught it and peeked inside to see a sapphire and a ruby. He nodded his thanks enthusiastically and left hurriedly, glancing nervously back at the temple and the mysterious mage riding forth to venture into its depths.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Fifty feet from the entrance to the ruins, Khan dismounted and with a wave of his hand, returned his steed to its plane of Oblivion. The Dunmer continued forward around fallen rocks to the black doors that were the entrance. Khan raised an arm and casted a shield spell to increase his protection against physical and magical damage, then drew Soul Hunter from its black and silver leather sheath. Khan held no fear for what lay inside the barrow, he had cleared out such places and faced powerful enemies before; this would be no different. The ancient Nords had been powerful mages and warriors, the draugr testified to that much, but the long years of undeath had debilitating effects on their cognitive abilities. They were easily dispatched by a veteran adventurer such as himself.

Just as Khan reached the doors leading inside, they burst open and a frightened Imperial bandit tumbled out. He was delirious and babbling about the undead that lay within. A group of bandits must have tried to make a den within the ruins, Khan realized. Khan looked at the pitiful human, noting the notched, low-quality iron sword, ragged animal fur clothing, and unkempt hair and shook his head in disgust.

"Not even worthy of reanimation… But I could use a snack, save the blood potions for later," Khan mused aloud to himself. So saying, he removed Nahkriin from his face to expose his fangs, then sheathed his sword, hauled up the hapless human with a single hand and plunged his fangs into the Imperial's pulsating jugular. The blood ran hot over his tongue, revitalizing the hungry vampire. Khan drained the human dry and tossed the body aside, now more than ready to slaughter whatever lay inside. The spellsword replaced Nahkriin and drew his sword before striding forward and kicking open the black metal doors.

The entrance hall was bare, a single brazier lighting a relatively small room. The walls were old and crumbling, with some steps to the right leading deeper into the ruin. While he walked to the stairs, Khan casted a spell to detect anything dead, specifically undead. Several signatures showed up in what he supposed to be the next room, but he could tell from the color of the glow and their positions that they were not undead. When he turned the corner, he saw that he was right.

Blood was spattered across the floor and walls. The bodies of a group of five bandits were strewn about in grotesque positions of death. Arrows had penetrated some of the vagabonds while others were missing limbs or covered in burns and spikes of magical ice. The elf shook his head at the crude butchery and continued to the next room, albeit with more caution.

The next chamber was large and rectangular with an embalming altar in the middle and pillars at each of its corners. A balcony was at the far end of the room with two wooden ramps leading up to it. Suddenly a draugr stepped out from behind a pillar, clutching a battle axe menacingly and growling. Its bright blue eyes glared at Khan coldly. The dark elf's detection spell showed him that more of the undead warriors were scattered around the room. Khan beckoned to the first draugr. It rasped in a horrible voice, "_Aav Dilon_!" (Join Death) and charged the waiting elf. It raised its axe for an overhead blow, but Khan spun nimbly to the right and sliced his sword horizontally through the draugr's torso, freezing the flesh around the opening and ripping away some of the life force of the monster. Its momentum sent it crashing to the floor. Khan was already turning toward the next of the undead.

A draugr mage, dubbed a wight by adventurers, stood on the balcony and began to throw spikes of magical ice at the spellsword. Khan flicked up a ward and the spikes shattered harmlessly against its surface. The Dunmer countered with a Silence spell, eliminating its ability to use magic temporarily. It growled in anger and drew its sword to attack before turning to run down a ramp. This bought Khan time to dispatch another attacking draugr with a spear of ice in the chest and a severed head.

An archer took aim at Khan, but the mer summoned a bound, spectral kite shield on his arm that sent the arrows bouncing away. Khan advanced on the archer, blocking the arrows all the while, and sliced his ebony sword first through the draugr's bow, then its skull. When the wight finally showed up, the vampire lord dissipated his shield, turned, and used a telekinesis spell to rip the sword out of the draugr's bony hands. The monster attempted to snatch it back, but it flew away to hover next to Khan. The sword rotated in midair to point straight at the angered undead. With a flick of his fingers, the draugr's own sword sailed through the air and pinned it to a pillar through its chest. Its eyes flickered before winking out.

With no draugr left to fight in the room, Khan paused to clean the blood off his sword with magically created water before heading towards the balcony at the far end of the room. He climbed up a wooden ramp, maintaining his detection spell to avoid any ambushes. He suspected the draugr in this room were only awake because of the slaughtered bandits from the antechamber, but it never hurt to be careful. On some shelves were a few dusty bottles of magicka and health restoration. Khan lifted the lot of them with telekinetic magic and tied them to his belt before moving on through a nearby door.

A long, narrow hallway overgrown with tree roots stretched before the Dunmeri spellsword. A detection spell showed him that there were no undead surprises awaiting him. He refreshed his shield spell and proceeded down the corridor until he reached another door. This time a detection spell showed two unlife signatures on the other side.

Khan kicked open the door and quickly surveyed the room. The chamber had two pillars placed several feet apart in the center with small tables full of ancient junk lining them and placed along the walls. The two draugr snapped their heads up at the sudden intruder and drew weapons. Khan studied these more dangerous undead. One wielded an ebony sword and shield while the other was armed with a war axe of the same material. Dark armour provided significant protection.

"Ah, deathlords. I was wondering when I would run into some," Khan mused to himself. The undead growled in the language of their old masters before attempting to charge Khan. "Not so fast!" cried the dark elf. A stream of fire flowed from the spellsword's palm and formed a wall of intense flames around the monsters, cutting off their charge. The deathlords roared at the Dunmer, whom sheathed Soul Hunter and began to chant in his native tongue. A red mist began to coalesce in the chamber, forming around the draugr whom looked around in trepidation. The intensity of Khan's chanting reached a crescendo, changing the mist to fire, instantly setting the unfortunate undead alight. They roared in pain and anger, dropping their weapons and wildly attempting to swat out the flames covering their bodies. Khan dissipated the flames in his path and strode forward past the dying monsters flailing around in their death throes.

A door to the left lead into the next hallway. It turned sharply to the left after a ways, but the Dunmer's sharp eyes caught the faint outline of a pressure plate on the floor. He carefully stepped around it and saw the swinging, spiked gate ready to impale any would-be adventurers. Some of the spikes were even covered with dried blood. Skeletons lay strewn about, some fresher than others. Khan continued on through the ancient barrow's halls until he reached a wide, two-leveled chamber. Torches lit up the room brightly, giving him light to see the way he needed to go. An iron gate in the floor barred a spiral wooden ramp that led deeper into the temple. Rotating three-sided pillars about half the height of a man were dotted around the room, each side displaying a silhouette of a snake, hawk, and whale.

"The ancient Nords certainly loved their puzzles, simple as they are," Khan muttered while he strode down the ramp to the bottom floor. A lever was to his right. Above and behind him were a series of pictures matching the symbols on the pillars, clearly the order of the pillars needed to open the gate. Khan used telekinesis magic to rotate the pillars to their correct positions, and then pulled the lever. The gate slid open with a screech of metal, leaving the way open. Khan descended the ramp. It led to another set of doors, which led to the barrow's catacombs. Recalling the notes he had found in a tome in the library of the College of Winterhold, Khan remembered the artifact was located in the deepest section of the barrow, guarded by its most powerful inhabitant. He recalled that the tome had hinted of an ancient, malign force guarding the artifact. Khan prepared himself for the next wave of obstacles and pushed open the doors to the next area.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

A brazier lit a crossroads leading left, forward, and right. Khan surveyed his options for a moment, shrugged, then set off on the path leading forward. A detection spell exposed a sleeping draugr in an upright coffin just ahead of him. Khan raised his arm at a 90 degree angle. Telekinesis magic took hold of the unwary undead, rousing it from its sleep. Khan clenched his fist and slammed the monster face first into the stone floor. It writhed helplessly, but Khan was merciless. The draugr was thrown up into the low ceiling, back down to the floor, into the wall, and back down again. Nearly finished, it hung helplessly above the floor. Khan brought the undead forward to hover in front of him and manipulated its arms telekinetically so they crossed at the wrists above its head. A spike of ice shot out of the elf's hand and pinned the draugr to the ceiling through its hands. Khan released his hold on the monster and let it hang by the magical ice. Then he drew his sword and held it two handed. The spellsword drew back his blade and cleaved horizontally, the ebony slicing neatly through the draugr's body like it was paper. The lower half of it stood for a moment before it was promptly kicked aside by Khan. The upper half remained pinned to the ceiling.

Khan moved past his handiwork around a corner to the right. It led to yet another wooden ramp leading even further into the depths of the catacombs.

"Down the Skeever hole I go," Khan muttered aloud as he descended the steps. The door at the bottom led well and truly into the crypts of the dead. Spaces had been cut into the stone for the bodies that long ago had been laid to rest.

"Well, not quite so restful anymore," Khan said to himself as he cautiously proceeded through the crypt. Suddenly one of the heads of the many bodies lining the wall spaces snapped up. Bright cold eyes shone in the darkness, locking on to the elf walking its halls. It quietly rose from its space and drew an axe from its belt, then advanced on the elf. The draugr raised its axe to split its target's skull. The axe came down and Khan smoothly sidestepped without looking, causing the draugr to stumble forward from the lack of resistance. Khan spun around to face the overbalanced draugr's back and gave it a solid kick, sending it sprawling to the floor. Its axe went spinning away. Khan used telekinesis to lift the axe from the floor to slowly spin in the air next to its new master. The draugr rolled on to its back to glare at the vampire.

"Clearly I was not mistaken. Even the dead may move silently, it would seem," Khan said aloud, still slowly spinning the axe in the air. "You came close, monster, but only because I allowed it so." The undead growled in anger and lunged for the mocking elf. Khan once again flicked his fingers. The axe swung in a perfect arc, smashing blade first into the skull of the draugr and sending it crashing to the floor. It writhed in pain, not yet cut off from the magical source that powered its undeath. Khan flipped the monster over with telekinesis so its back lay propped against the wall. The axe was ripped out of its skull and began to chop the draugr to pieces. The axe finally split its skull in two, ending the torment. Khan left the axe where it was and continued through the halls.

Another two draugr crawled out of their spaces at the end of the hall and rose with weapons in hand. Khan drew his sword and strode forward. The first of them raised its sword and cleaved its weapon down but was smoothly parried. Khan countered with a slash that opened the draugr's chest. While it stumbled away, the second draugr chopped its axe towards Khan's undefended left side. Quickly, Khan increased the magical shielding around his left forearm. The axe blow clanged off the magically reinforced limb harmlessly, shocking the draugr long enough for Khan to lop off the monster's weapon arm, then its head. He turned to the weakened draugr, whom was trying to rise off the floor, and sent a spear of ice through the undead, finishing it off. Khan wiped away the blood on his sword and continued on into even narrower hallways.

On and on, the dark elf trekked, fighting through the small groups of draugr that rose out of the sarcophagi and slots in the walls. Finally, he turned a corner to find a long hallway that had several pressure plates along the floor. Holes in the walls confirmed his suspicions of dart traps. The elf carefully maneuvered through the trapped hall of the barrow until he reached the wooden double doors at the far end. A quick refreshment of his shield spell and a drink of water readied the elf for the next challenge.

The doors were kicked in and Khan strode through. The hall ahead was blocked by fallen rocks, so he turned left and continued through into a small chamber with a lever and three gated doors. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled the lever. Suddenly, one of the doors opened, but not the one to move on. A wall blocking one of the doorways rotated to expose a draugr guarding a lever. The monster charged the dark elf. Khan blocked the first stroke and deflected the second. His return slash to the draugr's side was blocked by an iron shield. The draugr capitalized and shoved Khan back. The Dunmer recovered quickly and fell back; parrying several more slashes from the undead. The draugr pressed forward, but Khan feinted left then spun right. The confused monster didn't react quickly enough to prevent Soul Hunter puncturing its torso. Khan held the blade in until the frost and health absorption enchantment worked in tandem to end its existence. Khan kicked the corpse of his blade. Looking into the cell the draugr had come from, he saw another lever. A detection spell showed yet another draugr awaiting him in the next cell.

"I may as well use all the resources at my disposal," Khan said aloud to himself. A reanimation spell appeared in his hand, and a soul orb flew from the elf's hand into the draugr's body. Blue symbols appeared all over the corpse, and it began to rise once more. The mindless zombie stared aimlessly, waiting for instructions. "Wait by the door, thrall. Prepare for battle." Khan ordered. The draugr obediently picked up its sword and moved to stand by the door, ready to fight and die once more. Khan pulled the lever, casted a spell of invisibility upon himself, and muffled his footsteps with another spell, content to skip this fight. The cell opened and a draugr rushed out to attack. While the two undead fought one another, Khan sidestepped the heated battle and pulled the lever to open the next gate telekinetically. He stepped through, and then shut it once more through telekinesis. He left the two to their battle and faced far more ornate black metal doors.

"This looks like the throne room alright. The artifact should be in here, probably beyond the dragon priest." Khan muttered to himself. Then he noticed a small relief on the wall. "What's this?" The spellsword leaned in closer to study the ancient markings. "Ah! the language of the dragons! Luckily I know it. It reads, 'The Throne of Shadow lies ahead. Know fear, and perish by the mighty servants of the dragons.' Well," Khan sniffed, "the ancient Nords certainly weren't very subtle. You don't see that on Telvanni tombs. Although we do burn our dead… Bah! Time to face this old lich." And so saying, he straightened and prepared his shield spell against magical damage foremost. Lastly, he summoned a skeletal champion from the Soul Cairn. A purple and blue gate deposited the conjuration next to him before disappearing. The 'Wrathman' wore scraps of ancient Nordic armour and wielded a huge battle axe made from the bones of a dragon.

"Thrall, handle the draugr only. Leave the lich to me. Nod if you understand." The creature gave a jerky nod and shifted the battle axe from its back to its hand. "Good. Follow me."


	4. Chapter 4

3

**Chapter Four**

Khan summoned a ward spell in one hand and a thunderbolt spell in the other, turned, and kicked open the doors. They crashed open loudly, instantly waking the draugr from their sarcophagi. The Wrathman charged forward and began to slay draugr, its dragonbone axe crunching through armour and severing ancient limbs with ease. With a huge crash, a sarcophagus on a raised dais had its lid forcefully thrown away. The dragon priest that the relief had named Vokun (Shadow) rose from his sarcophagus and screeched in fury. His eyes locked onto the intruder whom had dared to disturb him across the room. Using the staff in his hand, he began to shoot fireballs at Khan whom quickly raised his ward to block them. The magicka of the spells was quickly absorbed by the ward, and Khan was quick to turn the dragon priest's own magicka against him. Thunderbolts flew from Khan's hands, striking the dragon priest. It roared and summoned a ward of its own to block the lightning strikes. While the priest prepared to retaliate, Khan dived for cover behind a pillar. Fireballs exploded behind him, but he was protected from the heat by his shield spell. Luckily his natural resistance to fire negated the weakness he normally suffered to it as a vampire, leaving him no advantage or penalty towards it. Khan turned the corner and loosed two more powerful bolts of lightning at Vokun, whom shrieked and responded in kind, forcing Khan to duck back. Looking across the chamber, Khan saw that his Wrathman had exterminated the last of the draugr and was now preparing to charge the dragon priest. He watched as it stampeded straight for Vokun, whom had already prepared a shield spell to ward against physical damage. It threw fireballs at the skeleton, but the Wrathman charged through them. The sorcery binding this skeleton together was powerful indeed. The skeleton raised its axe for a devastating blow. The dragonbone of the axe would have sheared straight through most kinds of armour, but the shield spell of a dragon priest, especially a named one, was as thick as heavy ebony plate armour. So while the battle axe did considerable damage, by no means was it fatal. Vokun staggered from the heavy blow, but he quickly recovered and picked up the hapless skeleton warrior with telekinesis before throwing him at Khan, whom had been creeping up to a nearby pillar. Khan dived to avoid the heavy projectile and narrowly managed to get behind cover. The Wrathman shattered upon impact and dissipated back to Oblivion, leaving only its armour and axe behind. Khan used telekinesis on the battle axe to throw it at the priest, but Vokun telekinetically lifted the lid of his sarcophagus to block the deadly projectile. While Vokun was distracted, Khan stepped out and fired several thunderbolts at the priest. The power of the lightning burned away some of the magicka reserves of the lich, a helpful side effect of the element. Vokun's spells became far weaker, harmlessly dissipating on the spellsword's powerful magical shielding. Vokun lost more magicka with each bolt of lightning, losing the strength to do much more than summon a small ward. An attempt to use his staff of fireballs left him with dust, as Khan sent disintegration magic into it. Vokun screamed in rage as his ward was shattered by the mage, falling helplessly to the floor. He looked up as Khan strode forward, an ebony sword clutched in the adventurer's hands. Only then did the lich notice the mask the elf was wearing.

"Nahkriin…?" The dragon priest rasped, its vocal cords having rotted long ago. He shook his head in anger and despair at the fall of his fellow cult member.

"Your time has passed, lich," Khan announced with Soul Hunter at Vokun's throat, "I release you from your undeath." Khan plunged his sword into the lich's torso and channeled lightning through it. The monster screeched once more in its death throes before disintegrating into dust, leaving behind its old, dusty robes and eponymous mask.

Khan sheathed his sword and scooped up the mask. "Ah, another for the collection," he said with satisfaction. He placed the mask in his bag and proceeded through a gate in the wall behind Vokun's former resting place that seemed to lead into a treasure room.

A step through confirmed that it did indeed lead to a room full of gold and jewels, but the elf was looking for one thing in particular among the treasures of Vokun. He found it on an armour stand amid the piles of treasure. A set of ebony armour sat on a stand in a corner, complete with gauntlets and helmet.

"Finally!" Khan cried triumphantly, "The armour of the Shadow!" The elf removed his mask and stepped forward to examine the armour. It was black as midnight and thick enough to hold up against even the strongest of weapons. It glowed with the powerful enchantments of a master wizard. Khan placed his hands on the armour and studied it magically, shocked by the sheer strength of the enchantments.

"It seems to have fortification of at least four schools of magic," Khan muttered, brow furrowed in concentration as he analyzed the complex magicka strengthening the ebony plate. "Destruction… Alteration… Illusion and Conjuration. It would seem Vokun did not put much stock in the healing arts," Khan observed. He continued, "There also appears to be a huge magicka reserve within it, nearly as much as my own!" Khan cried. This was significant, as Khan's reserves of magicka were deep and powerful. "I wonder how many souls Vokun had to sacrifice to create armour of this magnitude. Dozens of black souls certainly. But it is perfect for my combat style." So saying, he removed the steel plate from his body and tossed it in a spectral chest attached to a minor plane of Oblivion, a mobile storage space he used while out on adventures, before placing his new armour on. Once he was finished, the elf felt invigorated by the powerful and ancient enchantments.

"Time to go," Khan said at last, having admired his new armour long enough. He picked up a few choice loot items on his way out, but he ignored most of the gold. He had a vast amount scattered throughout his many homes, as well as a credit system set up with his most important merchants and traders. The exit led to a small, rocky tunnel. A pull chain to the side caused the rock face to slide open, which led to a wooden spiral ramp leading all the way up to ground level. Khan started and finished the climb, which led to a door which in turn led to the entrance chamber. Khan strode out of the barrow into the sunlight, taking the burning sensation of the rays in his stride. The vampire had suffered the heat of the sun before, and he had grown used to the pain and the loss of strength. Khan once again summoned his spectral mount and rode back to the hill he had first seen High Gate Ruins from and continued on to his castle far to the west without a single look back at his latest conquest.


End file.
